The latest scam

Cybersecurity journalist Brian Krebs explains on his blog:

“Performing a simple online search for Amazon customer support phone numbers can turn up some dubious and outright fraudulent results.”

Amazon customers have reportedly been scammed after searching for Amazon’s customer support number online and calling a phony number. The people who answer ask for personal information, including bank account and credit card details.

Once they get that information from customers, the scammers use it to open new accounts at Amazon and elsewhere — including at a website where they can buy virtual currency like bitcoin.

Staying safe on Amazon

Amazon netted $60.5 billion in sales during the last quarter of 2017 alone, according to the company’s latest financials. In other words, shoppers collectively spend billions of dollars at Amazon every month.

Fake Amazon phone numbers are just another avenue for these scammers — and there are others. Krebs details one involving apparently phony accounts on CreateSpace, an Amazon-owned self-publishing platform.

We’re not trying to freak you out, though. Shopping on Amazon is as safe as shopping elsewhere — as long as you play it safe, as you should anytime you shop online.